Happy Memorial Day in Vietnam

For me, Memorial Day Weekend is the kickoff of Summer back at home. The weather is finally nice, beach camps and Summer houses are opened, barbaques come out and the months of cold dreary Winter weather are easily forgotten. Memorial Day in Vietnam is just plain weird. It's not celebrated obviously, but we decided to have our own celebration. As many of you know, the weather is hotter here than it will ever get back home, we live on the beach so technically there is no "beach house" to open up, the only thing missing is our barbaque. We have been saying for months, "lets get a "barbie" as out kiwi friends like to call it. Well Memorial Day Weekend in Nam was the perfect excuse.


Dan, as amazing as he is, ventured into the markets found the "barbeque", coal, chicken, fish, veggies, and of course loads of beer. I topped it off with mom's famous potato salad, which I obviously didnt make as good as she does, but it hit the spot for everyone.  We might not be home celebrating, but we tried our best to celebrate here! Happy Memorial Day!!

It's Officially Official

It's not official in Vietnam unless there is a big red stamp (maybe two), ten signatures, finger prints and where appropriate a drip of blood. Well, all but the blood has been done. I've dotted my i's crossed my t's, now I just need my original diploma from College, a police report, and a medical check. All of course need to be notorized by the US embassy in Hanoi. With all that being said. I have officially taken a job in Da Nang, Vietnam with Olympus Pacific Gold Mining Company for 1 year.

Term's of my contract are to be kept a secrect and I've signed my life away so I dont want to disclose this secret information, but let's just say we are coming home from August 18- September 14 and 2 weeks at Christmas.  (SHHHHH please dont tell Granddad Cloutier, it's a surprise)


After a brief Indian Summer in America catching up with family, friends, and everything in between it will be a full new year spent back in Vietnam. The Vietnam we have yet to experience: extreme heat, rainy season, and Tet (the biggest party holiday in Nam). I'm sure that the year will bring many joys and many frustrations but we are very excited and feel very fortunate that we're able to spend a full year here and still come home and visit all of you!! With that being said, start planning your trips!! We have an open door policy and would really love to show you our life over here.

Visa Run=FUN!

This blog is going to be Vietnamese style. I dont know if I've ever shared with you all or not, but the Vietnamese tell it like it is. They dont hold anything back. Politeness isnt in their vocabulary.....

As the days approached for our visa run, the excitement grew. I love Vietnam, but I was ready for a change.  By the time we arrived at the airport I was really thankful we were leaving Vietnam. I needed a re-charge. I think of airports as neutral zones. Yes, it might be in Vietnam, but international rules apply. So when we arrived at the airport, it felt like we were already on vacation. Who am I kidding? The Vietnamese dont know how to wait in line, fasten their seat belts, stay in their seats, find a place to puke that's not in the middle of the jet way.... you get my drift. It was a long flight to Kuala Lumpur (KL), but as soon as we arrived we were welcomed by the golden arches and it felt like home.

KL was amazing. We decided to make our visa run somewhat of a holiday and upgraded ourselves to 5 star hotels. I think the hotel could tell we needed a holiday because when we arrived, they upgraded us to a suite. It was like heaven on earth. We set out exploring, doing one western thing after another. Eating fast food, shopping, eating fast food, sightseeing, eating fast food. I am by no means exaggerating. I think the final count was McDonalds (x3) Wendys, Subway, Dominoes, Food Court's in malls (x2).... Yes I know this is absolutely disgusting, but we couldnt help ourselves. To be fair, this is over a 5 day span.

KL was just what the doctor ordered. It's the melting pot of Asia. Picture all different types of Asians procreating and then throw a little Muslim in there and that's what it felt like. I still dont really know what a Malaysian person looks like. It was a weekend spent doing things we would never think about doing in the States (eating 3 meals a day for 5 days at fast food joints, getting Danny to spend a whole day in a shopping mall with me, splurging on 5 star hotels)

Danny knew how excited I was to be in a mall where clothes weren't made for little tiny Asians. The beauty of the melting pot is that everyone comes in all shapes and sizes. In Vietnam, you can call me Kirstie Allie. My dear Vietnamese Mom, Ha, tells me I am fat on a daily basis. She doesnt realize it's rude and she by no means is actually trying to be mean. It's just the Vietnamese way. I have grown accustom to it and actually think it's hysterical. What I dont think is hysterical is the lack of clothes for me to buy in Vietnam. So I went to town. Replaced my whole wardrobe for $50 and enjoyed every second of the sales people telling me how nice the clothes I was trying on looked.

In between splurging on clothes and food we spent a good amount of time sight seeing. KL is known as the greenest city in Asia. I was modern, clean, friendly, and most of all had the perfect mix of western flare!







After a glorious 2 days in KL we hopped the nicest coach bus we have ever been on for a short 5 hour trip to Singapore......To be continued...

3 Month Mark

It has been almost a month without blogging. I have had friends, parents, and now (the last straw) grandparents asking me if I'm still alive. So here I am everyone! Alive and living well in Vietnam. Blogging has taken a back seat in the recent month. I have been focusing on my job and to tell you the truth we are really settling into Vietnam. Occurrences now aren't seen as crazy experiences like they were three months ago. It's sad to think that buffalo's in the street, neighbors in the front yard without invitation, 5 people on 1 motorbike, and my personal favorite the speakerphone fading into the background don't even make us blink an eye anymore. It's become our normal life.

We have officially been here 3 months. Tomorrow we are heading out of the country for a "Visa Run". Our Visa will expire in a few days and we're off on a little vacation to Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia and Singapore. I know a vacation from our vacation, but that's what I'm trying to tell you, Vietnam doesn't seem like a vacation anymore. It's transformed into our home. It just happens to be an extremely affordable place, on a beach, with beautiful weather and an amazing atmosphere. (Visitors are welcome!!!) 


I am happy to report that in the last 3 months in Hoi An, Vietnam we have rented a home, founds jobs, and the kicker.... made some friends. You've all seen my blog about our house. It's a perfect Vietnamese house. 1 (potentially 2- waiting on our visitors) bedrooms with 3 bathrooms. Yes I know, very strange, but it's perfect. As for my job, the girl that left accounting has found herself a management accounting job 3 days a week at a Gold Mining Company. After being there a month, I can honestly say that I like my job. Everyday is a challenge, but 3 days a week leaving at 5:30 on the dot, who can complain? Dan is enjoying writing and is having an article published in a traveling magazine in May! He's taking amazing pictures and writing even more amazing articles.  And now, what you're all waiting for, our new friendships.



It was like being at your first day of kindergarten- let's try and make friends. Hoi An is composed of many different types of ex pats. You've got your rich folks, living on millions, your travellers who haven't been able to step away from all the beauty Hoi An has to offer (that's where we fit in), couples with children, single travellers, couples with no children (also where we fit in) and everything in between, from all different countries. There aren't very many twentysomething's here. We have managed to meet the 5 that we know of and our personal skills were put to the test. Are we cool enough, do you think we'll like them, do we have to be friends with them just because there is no one else- the series of questions that ran through our mind. Lucky enough, they are awesome. Friend #1 is from NZ, Lawyer in London the past 6 years, and one of the funniest people I have ever met and would definitely be one of my friends at home. Friend #2 is married to Friend #3 and they are both teachers here in Hoi An, from the west coast of the US. Friend #4 is dating friend #5, they are also from NZ and have just moved here last week. They are all so much fun to be around and we had a proper night on the town in the big city Da Nang where we all spent $50 USD, stayed out until we either puked/passed out/ was the last (lone) man standing/ or had to bring your girlfriend home (Dan). We'll that's a little too much info for the grandparents... but you all get my drift. We are alive and living well in Hoi An. I encourage each of you to at least think about coming to visit. We would love to see you and would be happy for you to stay with us!

Until next time, which we all know could be a month from now, check out Danny's blog, which is updated almost daily. www.djrobbins.blogspot.com  It's much more interesting than my blog!!

Week 1 vs Week 2

We had three night's of sleeping in the new house before I started work. Sleeping patterns werent what they used to be. Bed came early, mornings came ever earlier and our king size bed at Ha's turned into a small double, with an even smaller blanket. I hardly slept and my eyes were open before the speaker went off. I got out of bed and headed out to the dark streets to find they were filled with Vietnamese doing their exercise regime.

I headed left out the gate to quickly be joined by everyone that passed me. There were giggles, there were smiles, I even got a few 'hellos and mornings'. We all walked in unison, up and down our street. This is how I met the neighbors. After 30 minutes, I headed back inside. Anxiety was all over my face. Luckily, Dan knew that would be the case and had breakfast all ready to go. I wore my best new work outfit, tried to towel dry my hair as best I could and mustered up the best smile that almost looked convincing. I couldnt believe I was going to work, accounting no less. It seemed unfair, Dan got to stay home and have fun while I had to dive back in to the thing I loathed the most, office work. Dan snapped a few "first day of work pictures" before the driver came and I was off.

Small chat in the car was all that I could bring myself to do. My hands were sweaty, my heart was beating fast, anxiety was in full force. As we pulled up to the office building, I took a deep breath, climbed a flight of stairs and found an office filled with Vietnamese accountants with big smiles on their faces. As each one introduced themselves, I forgot each of their names within seconds. What a great co-worker I am.

I was paired up with Salvador or Buddy, as no Vietnamese person can actually say Salvador. He's from the Philippians and I will be replacing him when he leaves in a month (now 2.5 weeks, but whos counting) My job for the next month is to learn everything Buddy does, make it simpler, as he seems to complicate things, including how he teaches me, and then be able to replicate any task needed of me for the following two months until I am replaced by another full time Westerner. Easy, right? Well, my anxiety didnt go away. I had first day of work blues. I second guessed my decision to return back to work all day but somehow kept the smile on my face, nodded when it seemed I should, and  asked somewhat insightful questions.

As we returned home from work, we being my boss and me,(Oh yes- did I forget to mention I ride to and from work with my boss everyday. Wouldnt you all like to do that??) It sounds bad, but my boss is an amazingly friend New Zealand man, with a family we have grown to love over the past year, so much easier than it sounds. As we pulled up home, Dan was waiting with dinner on the table and a smile. He must have known it was going to be tough. With dinner came words of encouragement. Day 2 and 3 passed, the weekend flew by, but week 2 was a total change from week 1. I actually enjoyed it. It's going to be work for sure, but the atmosphere is relaxed, the people are friendly, and I already have a handful of funny stories to share.

The main accountant I work hand in hand with is Ms. Phuc (Fuck)........ Stay tuned.

Settling In



Our Mini- Fridge

 It's safe to say the move went smoothly. Little by little we brought everything we have, which is not much, to our new house via bicycle. We signed the papers, handed over a wad of money, and all that was left was furniture and Internet, which were both supposedly coming on Monday. I was sure it was all going to go smoothly. We'd spend Monday at the house gardening, cooking, doing things home renters do and everything would get done. The Internet man would come, the furniture would be delivered, and the house would be complete. As you all know, Dan and I are opposites, so of course he was sure nothing was getting done. We met in the middle as usual. The Internet man came but the furniture did not. The day gave us a good excuse to buy a DVD player as Vietnamese television is less than amusing. Of course our first dinner was fried chicken (Dan's favorite)

Furniture was finally delivered!

(Side Note: As I am writing this blog, sitting in the pictured chairs, our front gate it open and the neighbors have decided to let themselves in and check out the garden. Welcome to the neighborhood!)





With only one day before work starts, I set off into town with a list. High priority= work clothes, phone card and shoes. Pleasure= nails, books, dvd's. Success rate= 100%. Some were more challenging than others, like shoe shopping. Luckily, I have small feet. However, I know the price these shoes should cost and let me tell you, that's not the price they tried to charge me. I made a few women angry after they told me a whopping $25 for shoes. Can you believe it? I got mad that shoes were $25. Well, when they should be $5-10, you'd get mad too. Either way, I came away with two pairs of comfortable work shoes. Clothes were pre ordered at the best tailored shop in town- all the right size. Hunger games is the book of choice, 11 DVD's for $7.50, and finally a $1 pedicure. I'd say I'm all set for my first day of work tomorrow. Now let's just hope the alarm clock goes off. Oh yeah- that's right, the speaker goes off at 5am.

 

The new shoes!

Dan's job has already started!







Isn't it Ironic

Final preparations are being made for move in day. Water jugs, rice, bedding, kitchen "stuff", and everything in between have been purchased. We have been strategically taking out money from the ATM's every other day to make sure our accounts dont get shut off. Side note: you pay rent up front in Vietnam. Today's hunt was CHEAP living room furniture. The Vietnamese have beautiful wooden expensive furniture lacking comfort. There are western style sofa's around, but most of those are lacking comfort as well. We were lucky enough to find a second hand wooden furniture store today. Bruno, it was your paradise. We scored (or hopefully scored as everyone spoke Vietnamese and by the end we were ready to give up) two beautiful mahogany chairs for $50 and a "we're unsure wooden couch" for $40. Today was a process. It was by far the most stressful day we've had here so far. (Tough life, I know) They are supposed to be delivered in 2 days (payment of delivery, thank god) I'll be sure to report back what the final outcome was.

I know it seems like we're rushing on home furnishings, but work starts Wednesday for me. The reason we're diving into the renters club in Hoi An is because I found a job in Da Nang, a city about a half hour by car, hour by motorbike. Strangely enough, I will be working as a contracted accountant at Olympus Pacific, a publicly traded gold mining company. (website: http://olympuspacific.com/) I know everyone who knows me is laughing because they are confused. Didnt she quit her accounting job?? Luckily, we bumped into old ex pat friends (the one who gave us Alex's number) and the husband, who is the controller, is looking for someone who can help him out for the next few months while employees are restructured within the company.

With that being said, I know my mother is probably hooked on: Da Nang, 1 hour by motorbike. Dont worry!! They were nice enough to realize there was no way I could do that and I have a door to door car service for my 3 day work week. I am very hopeful that this job is going to be a breath of fresh air and even potentially enjoyable. Even if it isnt, I'm sure it will provide lots of great story's for this LACKING blog.

House Hunting Part 2

We were lucky enough to catch a beautiful sunrise in the process

We've heard (and now experienced) horror stories of house hunting in Vietnam. You can ask someone, who ask's someone else, who know's someone who has a house for rent or you can drive around all the neighborhood's on your bicycle looking for signs of a house for rent, or you call Alex, the new house man in Hoi An.

We're guilty of all 3 of the above scenarios. We told Ha we were looking for a house and she made a few phone calls and the person on the other line made a few phone calls which brought us to a few houses, but none up to par. Then we had the day of riding around in the 90 degree weather trying to find signs of houses for rent. That only turned up one very overpriced house. With a hint from an expat friend, we got a hold of Alex's number. We told him our price range and length of stay and he showed us 3 houses.The first was a slum house, the second was luxury living we could never afford and the third was a perfect house near a speaker.

What is a speaker? It's a very, very loud megaphone placed all around neighborhoods in Hoi An that goes off every morning at 5am without fail. After looking at the house, we returned on our own the next day, and the next, and the next. It totally grew on us and we fell in love. So this morning was the final test. 4:30am wake up call, we rode out to the house, waited for the owner, went inside the house, shut all windows and doors and listened and I have good results to report.

Our humble abode for the next three months

We are proud renters in Hoi An, Vietnam.  Move in day is three short days away.  Luckily, the house is 75% furnished. We need a few staple item's (like bedding) but other then that, wooooohoooo here we come!!!!

House Hunting

Within the last week we have transitioned from guests to full on family members. How do I know this?

When it comes to being sick, I am a full on baby. I hate everything about it. I have no time for achiness, tissues, and everything else that comes with being sick, but to be honest I cant handle it. I crawl up in a little ball and whine. My family dreads when I get sick and now so does Danny. Ha decided to tackle the challenge, obviously not knowing what she was getting herself into. She came to take my temperature, she told me to drink lots of fluids, she even tried to force feed me, but when the tears started to stream down my face, as I had reached my peak for interaction, she just laughed at me and mocked me. To make it worse, so did the rest of the family and everyone else at the clothes shop next door. It was just like I was home with Moe and Neil, my sister and brother. Another step closer to being family members.

Later in the week, Danny and I decided to tackle the kitchen. We live above a restaurant and the kitchen is a busy place, but somehow we managed to sneak in when no one was around. I quickly started to chop up the onions, wash down the potatoes, and get our home fries started. Then Mai appeared and started screaming. Ha always says we can use the kitchen whenever we want. So why was Mai screaming like I had just killed someone? Oh, it was because I didnt peal the potatoes- of course. Then starts the game of charades, me trying to explain that I cleaned the potatoes. Finally being able to move on from the disaster of not pealing the potatoes, Ha arrives and Mai is quick to convey I didnt peal the potatoes. Now Ha decides to scream a little, throw her arms around, and then look at my pan that I am burning to shit because I cant concentrate on the potatoes because I have too many Vietnamese women screaming at me, and scream a little more. That's when I gave up. I called Danny to the kitchen and said finish these, I'm going upstairs. It felt just like I was at home once again, being in the kitchen with all the women in my family, mothers, grandmothers, aunts, cousins, sisters, and somehow always being demoted to the person who sets the table because my cooking skills arent up to par.



Today, as I leisurely surfed the web in my pj's while Dan strummed the guitar sipping coffee, the door magically opened and there was Kit. Kit, who was extremely sick, popped in to say hello. He left as quickly as he came. Yeahhhh right. He was just going to get his new Lego's to show them off to Dan. YEAHHH RIGHHHHT. Then came Mai, his mother, who unzipped his jacket, handed Dan his orange juice, screamed something in Vietnamese and left. We were stunned. Luckily, Kit loves Danny and I'm chopped liver. So i grabbed the camera and watched from afar as Danny played Lego's and crossed his toes hoping to not catch the nasty bug that Kit is home from school with. We are finally in the family with this one. We're the grandparents that dont have anything else to do, so we watch our sick grandchildren. Funny, I dont ever remember having kids or grand kids....

Needless to say, house hunting has begun. We have 4 days before we have to renew our lease with Ha or find a new place. A lot can happen in 4 days and Danny and I are going to do everything in our power to see that it does!

Graciously Accepting

Ha has graciously welcomed Dan and I into her family. She invites us to have lunch with her and her family everyday, charges us bare bone prices for dinner, gives us bicycles to use, and looks after us like we were her own children.

When I was here last year, Dan only spent about 2 weeks hanging around Ha's. Now that we've been here a little over 2 weeks, Ha and the rest of her family have  really opened up to Dan. Dan teaches their 20 year old son Heiu guitar lessons, wakes up Vietnamese style (6am) and has coffee with the ladies, and recently became their newest waiter and dishwasher. I am constantly reminded how good Dan is.

Mai, Dan and Ha all excited for the new shirt!!

I've been extremely lucky over the past few days in the job department and last night we realized it's been noticed. As we sat with Ha's family before the rush of customers for dinner, Mr. Vang, Ha's husband asked Dan if he was to get a job, would he stay here longer. Continuing the conversation, Mr Vang asked Dan what he wanted to do- bar tend, work in a hotel, restaurant, etc etc. As the examples of work continued to build so did the no's from Danny. There is only so much you can explain to your Vietnamese friends when both of you know only so much Vietnamese/English.

Not thinking anything of the conversation, we just laughed it off. Another funny story to add to the bunch. However, after lunch today Ha and her sister Mai knocked on our door looking for Dan. "Mr Vang bought this for you" It was an extremely large dress shirt. Politely Dan tried to show them it was too large and they soon agreed. Thinking he'd just escaped an awkward scenario, there was another knock on the door. Ha and Mai had big smiles and another dress shirt, this time just the right size for Dan.

There was no getting out of this. He graciously accepted and went to thank Mr. Vang. As he returned to the room he said, "I dont like where this is going. I think their trying to get me ready for work in a hotel." Trying to encourage the positives I say, "It's not an ugly shirt, it could be worse." Responding accordingly, Danny says, "The day I categorized jean shorts unwearable was the same day I said no to short sleeve collared shirts. Mai just said her husband has some shirts for me too. I'm scared, there is some plan in process." 

Kit-Cat

I'm guilty- I watched the Whitney Houston funeral. But instead of 12pm-4pm, which is unusually long to begin with, I sat in front of my computer squinty eyed from 12 am-4am. Of course I love Whitney and her songs, but I didn't have posters or even her Cd's. I'm actually not sure why I  stayed up. Either way, it made for a very short sleep. A sleep made even shorter when Ha's nephew, Kit, was let into our room by none other than Dan himself. As the giggles started I unrolled myself from the sheets trying to figure out why my "boyfriend" looked like a 5 year old Asian boy. Oh wait- it was a 5 year old Asian boy!

Somehow, I didnt manage to get a picture of Kit!
I'm sure he'll come by tomorrow. Stay tuned.

With a shaky start to my morning, I tried to get back on routine and jumped on the elliptical. 5 minutes into my work-out, Dan sent Kit back up to see me and quickly disappeared. Highly energized, he played with all the buttons making the workout more and more difficult. Trying to articulate that I wanted him to stop- I gave up after he started pulling on the petals, making it nearly impossible to continue. Fed up, I just started to scream DAN, but he didnt come. Finally Kit got distracted- by opening up our bedroom door and trying to find everything and anything he could put his hands on. As I continued to pedal on the machine, we mutually decided that it was ok he played with the deck of cards. Well what's the best card game as a 5 year old- 52 pick up!! As he tried to pick up the cards all around the elliptical- he squeezed into every spot and eventually his head got stuck between the wall and the arm of the machine. At this point, I was burning, but not because my workout was so intense. I was trying to figure out how I got stuck watching a 5 year old and no  one seemed to be coming to my rescue.

Storming down the stairs, grumpy from no sleep, ready to bite someones head off, I see a restaurant full of customers and all hands on deck- including Dan! So I take Kit back upstairs and let him throw all of the cards he wants feeling lucky I'm not waitress Meg.

As Dan finishes his duties, we decide to get out of the restaurant for the day. The skies had stopped raining, so we hopped downtown for an afternoon of fun. As we enjoyed our quiet and delicious lunch at Cargo, we started to talk about future plans. Jobs, apartments, home life, and everything in between. As the conversation continued, we splurged on some dessert and coffee feeling relaxed and comfortable. As the dessert's made their way  to our table so did a cat.  (Not all that uncommon in Asia- at least it wasnt on our plate!) As he hopped into the plant next to our table, I started to get worried there might be a mouse. Freaking a little, I turned my head to see Dan cracking up. The cat just needed a little bathroom break. As the smell of cat piss engulfed my nostrils, I had to chuckle. But when the cat started to go #2, I took it as a sign that lunch was over and quickly grabbed my bag and headed for the door!

Not ready to go back to Ha's (our home), we continued our splurging and headed to another restaurant. Feeling unsettled from all morning and now afternoon series of events, we got a bucket of Sangria and continued our life plan conversation Kit and cat free! Feeling rejuvenated and someone content on our life plan conversation, we were ready to head back home. Half way there, we hear someone screaming MEG MEG MEG and find an ex-pat friend on the side of the road. She greats us with, "Do you have time to come to Cargo and get a coffee? My husband is looking for an accountant and really wants to meet you." Agreeing to meet, Danny and I pedaled away confused as to why we even discussed our future plans and secretly hoping the cat had found another restaurant to call home!

Valenteen!!

Yes, Valenteen, not Valentine. Just another difference of the language barrier to add to the list. Dan and I have had the privilege to spend Valentine’s day in what I would say is one of the most romantic places in the world, Hoi An, Vietnam. The beautiful scenery, delicious fine dining restaurants, and prices that dont break the bank boosts the famous "Lovers Day".

Oddly enough, Vietnam and most of Asia have a different view on love than western culture. Ha explained it to us like this over lunch the other day. "Love is only between me and Mr. Vang. No one else is supposed to see our love." My hands slowly fell from Dan's hip as Ha quickly added, "You- no problem, no problem." As I'm sure you've already guessed, there are no public signs of affection between men and woman in Vietnam. You're more likely to see two male friends holding hands than newlyweds.

Embracing the Vietnamese culture, our Valentine's Day was spent in secret, exchanging presents behind closed doors. A bag of $6 Doritos and flowers and chocolate- after all we ARE western! At least I didnt upload pictures to my facebook like the rest of the world (it's only because Vietnam doesnt let me on facebook)

As our attempt at Vietnamese-like romance continued throughout the day, we found ourselves departing in different directions. I was due for a $2 mani/pedi while Dan took off on his bike to ride through the beautiful scenery that surrounds us. We lasted about a full afternoon before we joined back up for a mouth watering meal at our favorite fine dining scene in the old town. I've decided that I'm glad our love doesnt have to be kept behind closed doors. Em yeu anh Danny.

How Do You Get a Job in Vietnam?



Dan could always make rice wine!!

I could always wash laundry for a living

Some might say its easy, others may say its hard. So far we havent done anything out of our ordinary daily life. I popped into the Deli last week to grab an ice tea and happened to see the owner. We met last year when I went into Ex-pat classroom to help my friend Jennifer. He said,"It's a sign, you've showed up and we happen to need a math teacher."  So yes- I've fallen into the "it's easy to get a job in Vietnam"  category. Just waiting to work out the final details.



After lunch yesterday, we went to see Thuey at the hotel. The new receptionist introduced herself, but naturally I've already forgotten her name. We did tell her we were looking for a job because that is the number one way to get a job in Vietnam. Tell everyone you see and someone is bound to know someone that  might know someone who is looking for a teacher. However, this nice receptionist had another idea. She told Danny to call the hotel resorts because they are always looking for someone to train their employees. Maybe all those Summers spent at Oyster Harbors will pay off!

Whether we're jobless or not, we're still going to take every opportunity to enjoy fun nights with friends, afternoons on beaches, and mornings spent watching the grammys and skyping family back home!

Open Hearts, Open Minds

Superbowl Monday morning we frantically woke up and took our bikes into town to try and find a place to watch the game. We were 99% sure this one restaurant would have it. Well that restaurant was no longer there. As we rode up and down every street most shops and stores were closed and the ones that were open didnt know what the superbowl was. Sadly, we turned back for home.

In Hoi An there are many Expats, all here for one reason or another, and they all seem to "hang" at this one place called the Dingo Deli (Aussie owners). We popped in real quick for our hail mary. Old friends greeted us with smiles, but no answers. As were about to leave this woman, name unknown at the time, said ahhhh I know your pain, I hate when I want something back at home and I cant get it. Come with me, I've got a VPN. No questions asked we got on our bikes. As we quickly shook hands and introduced ourselves,  Lee graciously let us into her home and set up her computer and VPN  as we sat on her sofa and screamed at the screen and each other all morning. (Dan being a Patriot's fan) Luckily, Lee is Australian and thought we were very restrained.

Some of you may be thinking we're nuts, but that's what traveling is all about. We knew Lee was friends with some of our friends at the Deli and she knew we wanted to watch that game. For all she knew, we could have been wackos (that's still questionable!) We all took a chance- we came out victorious, THE GIANTS that is! But in all sincerity, we met a new friend and she even showed us a house for rent after the game.  With an open heart and an open mind, anything is possible here in Hoi An.

All Together Again!

After a 16 hour treacherous bus ride, we arrived in Hoi An!!  It was an already long ride that seemed even longer when the cigarette smoke and strange men filled the bus, but hey, no pain no gain…right? I could have paid the extra 12 bus for a better bus. Sadly the lesson was learned the hard way.
Either way, we made it. I was so nervous and excited to see all of my Vietnamese friends. I was afraid that they wouldn’t be as excited to see me, but as soon as we arrived at 328 Cua Dai- there were screams and cheers and a lot a pinching and hugging (maybe some tears, but shhhh don’t tell anyone).

After we put our bags down Ha cooked us some wonderful food, we played my favorite Vietnamese card games and just enjoyed each others company. The same night, Thuey and Thang came by. We kept it a secret that we were coming back so when they got a call from my old Vietnamese cell phone they didn’t really know what to do. They came over to our place within minutes. They got married in December. We were 2 weeks shy of attending but they told us all about it annnnnndd they’re having a baby. I think their honeymoon was a little too fun! 

Of course we headed up to our favorite beach spot. The water was cold but it didn’t stop Dan! The only thing missing was his sidekick Nolan.

We’re so happy to be back. Hoi An is truly an amazingly special place. We would love to have visitors- so if anyone is thinking about a vacation- we know we’ll definitely be here until May 1^st.

Cloud 9 in Vietnam

After a 10 day tour of Luang Prabang, Laos, we were finally ready to embark on the second phase of our journey- Vietnam. We've been enjoying the trip thus far, but the moment we landed in Hanoi airport, I felt a sudden change.

As we drove into the city, Danny even commented how my entire demeanor had changed.

We were dropped of at our prebooked hotel to be told that they were overbooked and they had another hotel for us. I was on cloud 9- it didn't even phase me. I just nodded and followed the man out the door and down the road. As we get into the room Danny had the "wtf" look on his face. Then I came back to reality and realized it was a little strange, but still I didn't care. We headed out for a late night stroll taking in all of the traffic, sights, smells, and sounds that were around us.

Our welcome to Vietnam smiles
Can you tell mines a little bigger
 than Danny's?

We're only spending two days in Hanoi. So we made sure to get out early- you know 11am (They had a blow dryer!!!!) We walked up and down the old quarter and the french quarter. With all the main tourist attractions already checked off the list from last years visits, it was a leisurely walking day. Well maybe not leisurely when you add motorbikes, slippery roads, and the hustle and bustle that comes with Hanoi!

I continued my cloud 9 feeling all throughout the day. I couldn't shake it, nor did I want to. I haven't felt this good the entire trip. It was raining all day- not a problem, I've got a rain coat.  Our cookie treats had a nice big bug in them- ehhh just spit it out. I even fell in the middle of the road, covered myself in muck, and shook it off. (Thanks to Danny I'm still alive!!) But seriously- nothing can bring me down. It feels so good to be in Vietnam.

Happy Happy Girl!!!

Ants In My Pants

Mountain top view inbetween potty breaks

We arrived in Luang Prabang against our will at dusk. By the time we made it to the city center it was completely dark. Anxiously walking up and down the guesthouse streets seeing the sign’s full on every door, we happened to fall upon the Mekong Moon- a great boutique hotel for  $20. The only bad part, they could only keep us for 2 days. After our wonderful 2 day stay, we headed out to our new guesthouse, what looked like another great spot for an even better price $15. After a night on the mattress (I don’t even know if you could actually call it that), the springs were indented on our backs.

Sadly, Danny caught the stomach bug. After a night in the bathroom for Dan, we decided to check into another guesthouse, one with a comfortable bed!  Between bathroom breaks, we made a run for our next abode-an even better deal, $10.

After one night, I was ready to leave, but for some reason we had committed to two nights. With a nice and early wake up from the roosters, dogs, babies, pots and pans clanging- all at 5 am might I add- we headed over to the Mekong  Moon.  It was my lucky day, they had the next week available!

Another Golden Wat

We get through night 2 at our $10 a night guesthouse- 5am wake up call’s still included.   Now that all belly’s were up to par, we took a morning stroll to a great bakery.  Well the stroll turned into a brisk walk into a slight jog as bellys that we thought were good turned out not to be.  Even though this place wasn’t so great, they did have an awesome shower. With a jog unexpectedly thrown into the morning, I decided to make  use of the only good thing this guesthouse had to offer. 

 I start to shower and see an ant on the wall. Not uncommon, no big deal.  As I go to turn the water temperature up, I reach my hand almost to the faucet to see hundreds of red ants filing out of the wall. Now im not talking one or two, Im taking HUNDREDS OF RED ANTS. And what do I decided to do- spray the crap out of them so THOUSANDS of red ants come out of the wall. As I start to panic, I call Danny for some help. After a few curse words, he’s like get the heck out of the shower and pack your bag- we’ve got to get out of here.  We packed our bags so fast it wasn’t even funny. Even as I write this I feel ants crawling all over me.

Beautiful scenery

As we settled back into the dream hotel, Mekong Moon, I took that shower that was much needed. After a day in a plush bed, in an ant-less room, one stomach bug was nursed back to health, but sadly another one started. That’s right- I caught a bug myself. I’m just glad my bed has springs and the bathroom I spend the night in is ant-less.